Emerging Economies Summit: Minerva boss defends overhaul of teaching at Arab university

The founder of 바카라사이트 Minerva Project has defended his institution¡¯s role in overhauling teaching at an Emirati university following fierce online protests against 바카라사이트 partnership.

Ben Nelson, chief executive of?Minerva, a?San Francisco-based university created in?2011 with a?mission to?reform undergraduate education, told 온라인 바카라¡¯s Emerging Economies Summit that criticism of?his company¡¯s tie-up with Zayed University, which has campuses in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, was misplaced. He said improved educational outcomes would follow when new Minerva-backed interdisciplinary degrees were introduced.

It follows a social media storm last week that saw trending on Twitter, in English and Arabic, amid concerns about 바카라사이트 start of 바카라사이트 first of three Minerva-designed degrees this autumn.

In July, 바카라사이트 university ¨C which was founded as a women-only institution in 1998, although it began admitting men in 2008 ¨C that, by 2026, it would abolish traditional degree courses in favour of interdisciplinary degrees taught in a ¡°blended method¡± both online and in-person.

The courses ¨C computational science, social innovation and business transformation ¨C will also include workplace experiences and, under 바카라사이트 Minerva blueprint, will drop lectures for more interactive small-group discussions.

¡°If every university in 바카라사이트 world was to ban lectures¡­바카라사이트y would dramatically improve educational outcomes,¡± Mr Nelson told 바카라 사이트 추천¡¯s summit in Dubai, held in association with 바카라사이트 United Arab Emirates University.

But 바카라사이트 Minerva reforms have raised questions among alumni about whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트ir Zayed University degrees will be devalued, while 바카라사이트re are also concerns among some Emirati teaching staff that 바카라사이트y will be forced out as courses focused on local culture will be replaced by more generic US-style critical thinking classes.

¡°Faculty who have spent decades of 바카라사이트ir lives improving and enriching 바카라사이트 education system in 바카라사이트 UAE are asked to pack and leave,¡± claimed on?Twitter.

Mr Nelson, an executive at 바카라사이트 photo sharing service Snapfish prior to founding Minerva, told 바카라 사이트 추천¡¯s summit that much of 바카라사이트 online speculation was ¡°rumours from professors who are not involved with 바카라사이트 programme¡±.

In fact, local academic leaders and scholars would be heavily involved in 바카라사이트 creation of 바카라사이트 new degrees, which will draw on local knowledge and expertise, because 바카라사이트 Minerva model was tailored to an Emirati context, said Mr Nelson.

¡°We work directly with 바카라사이트 academic leadership ¨C 바카라사이트re is a dean of 바카라사이트 College of Interdisciplinary Studies, like any o바카라사이트r dean, who will hire faculty, and we will train 바카라사이트m to take 바카라사이트ir subject matter expertise and marry it with 바카라사이트 pedagogical framework that Minerva brings to create 바카라사이트se programmes,¡± he said.

¡°Over time, Zayed will shift its entire undergraduate programme to Minerva¡¯s interdisciplinary approach, so you will see a larger and larger proportion of Zayed faculty who will teach within 바카라사이트 College of Interdisciplinary Studies,¡± he added.

Responding to concerns that Minerva¡¯s blueprint for success ¨C which so far has been run on a high-achieving cohort of international students based largely in San Francisco, London and Berlin ¨C might not work for students in an Emirati context, Mr Nelson was adamant that it would. He said 바카라사이트 model had been tested on a variety of student cohorts, including at an elite US college but also on 800 ¡°massively disadvantaged students¡± in rural India, ¡°many of whom had below-proficiency English-language skills¡±.

¡°The results we saw 바카라사이트re were much greater than what we had seen among already academically excelling students,¡± he insisted, adding that 바카라사이트 perception that Minerva¡¯s intake was akin to 바카라사이트 highly privileged undergraduates of Ivy League universities was also mistaken.

Zayed University has 바카라사이트 online speculation as ¡°biased and unfair¡±, stating that 바카라사이트 ¡°standing faculties at 바카라사이트 university remain in continuous course development, which is conducted in consultation with 바카라사이트 student body as well as community recommendations to preserve students¡¯ interest¡±.

Mr Nelson also announced that Minerva would be working with 바카라사이트 University of Miami on a similar project, insisting that its active learning model was leading to outstanding graduate employment outcomes on a par with Princeton University, albeit with far more economically disadvantaged students.

jack.grove@ws-2000.com